This invention relates to the inner pot of an electric fryer, particularly to one able to let the remaining oil attaching on the inner wall and the bottom of an inner pot flow into an oil gathering groove after the surplus oil in the inner pot is poured out to prevent the remaining oil in an inner pot from accumulating around an electric heating tube and catching fire.
A conventional electric fryer includes an inner and an outer pot, which are either detachable or inseparable. The inner pot 10 of a conventional electric fryer, as shown in FIG. 1, has its level bottom provided with an annular projection 101 with its ends separated from each other and having an electric heating tube 102 extended therein. The inner pot 10 further has its bottom center formed with a round recess 103 surrounded by the annular projection 101, as shown in FIG. 2. The outer pot 20 of the conventional electric fryer is provided with a temperature control device (not shown) for adjusting and controlling temperature of the electric heating tube 102 and an overheat protective device (not shown), which is able to cut off electricity automatically when the temperature of the electric heating tube 102 exceeds a heat value preset by the temperature control device.
In using, pour a proper amount of oil into the inner pot 10 and adjust the temperature control device of the outer pot 20 and then turn on the electric heating tube 102 to heat the oil in the inner pot 10 to carry out frying food, and after finishing frying, the surplus oil in the inner pot 10 is poured out.
However, oil is thick and sticky, therefore after the oil in the inner pot 10 is poured out, the remaining oil inside always accumulates near the electric heating tube 102 at the bottom of the inner pot 10. Under the circumstances, when the inner pot 10 recovers its level position and if a user operates improperly or the temperature control device is not cut off, the electric heating tube 102 will continue to heat the inner pot 10 and make the temperature of the accumulated oil near the electric heating tube 102 rise fast. At this time, in case the overheat protective device cannot automatically cut off the electricity of the electric fryer in time, the accumulated oil around the electric heating tube 102 may catch fire, not only possible to burn up the electric fryer, but even likely to give rise to a fire as well. Evidently, remaining oil accumulated near the electric heating tube 102 at the bottom of the inner pot 10 may be the main cause of a fire. In other words, so long as there is no remaining oil accumulated in the inner pot 10 near the electric heating tube 102 and the overheat protective device can be controlled, a fire will not happen.
The objective of this invention is to offer the inner pot of an electric fryer, able to prevent remaining oil in an inner pot from accumulating near an electric heating tube at the bottom of the inner pot and avoid burning of oil therein.
The inner pot of an electric fryer in the present invention is provided at the bottom with an electric heating tube having two ends separated from each other to form therein a gap, which forms the coolest section around the inner circumference at the bottom of the inner pot. The feature of the invention is an oil gathering groove provided at the coolest section at the bottom of the inner pot and an oil passage positioned between and communicating with the oil gathering groove and the bottom center of the inner pot. The oil passage passes through the gap between the two ends of the electric heating tube, and the inner pot is designed to have a bottom slanting downward toward the oil gathering groove after combined with an outer pot. Thus, the remaining oil in the inner pot can flow into the oil gathering groove along the inner wall and through the oil passage at the bottom of the inner pot to prevent remaining oil from accumulated near the electric heating tube.